MILKWEED APHID FACTS

IdentificationMilkweed aphids are a bright orange colour with black legs and two black tubes on the abdomen. Aphids are soft-bodied with sucking mouthparts. When they start to get overcrowded or run out of food, females produce winged young which fly away to find new food sources. The winged aphid has a darker head and dark area on back where wings emerge.

Other NamesOleander Aphids

Size3mm

HabitatMilkweed, Oleander and related plants.

Foodsap from plants

BreedingEggs hatch in spring, and all the young are female aphids. These females can reproduce within a few days without any male involvement (a process called parthenogenesis). Populations rapidly increase as this process is repeated generation after generation through the summer. In autumn, winged males are born, and they mate with females. The female lays eggs which lie dormant until spring when the cycle starts again